Heart of Darkness
by Jonah Mark
Summary: The lives of the Sailor Scouts were interrupted at the return of the Negaverse; however, will Raye find the answers to the secret questions in her heart within the darkness?
1. A Cold Winter Night

Heart of Darkness

Episode One- A Cold Winter Night

It was cold in Tokyo. Falling from the heavens high above, the snowflakes gently danced down to the earth below. Soft and cold, the snowflakes littered the ground, covering everything in a thick white blanket. The trees, covered in a thin layer of ice, were bare but majestic with thousands of tiny icicles clinging to their branches.

A single snowflake landed within a warm palm as it reached for the heavens. Pulling her hand down, the young woman examined her cold redden hand as the snowflake melted. After it was gone, she put her hand down, wiping it against her bright red pants, and she looked out into the white courtyard. The shrine grounds were truly serene in this moment. Nothing but the steadiness of her breath disturbed the silence of that cold afternoon.

The skies were grey and overcast. The air was harsh and cold. Despite the conditions, the young woman continued to practice. Through the snow, her feet moved back and forth into stances and positions. Likewise, her arms and hands followed suit. Her leg came up for a kick then her right and left arm jabbed into the empty space before her. Quickly, she spun around and threw another kick except this time slipping on the snow; she fell straight to the ground.

It was a hard fall. She laid there in the cold snow for a few moments. Looking up to the grey skies, she sighed as the snowflakes falling down tickled her sweaty face. She raised her right arm. It was wrapped in white bandages. After a deep breath, she forced herself to sit up, feeling pain surge through her entire body, but she continued to sit up, gritting her teeth along the way. After sitting upright for a few moments, she decided to get up and head back inside. She stepped onto the wooden deck of the shrine and followed it around the building towards the house. She slid open the door and stepped in. While walking through the quiet dark house, she dug into her shirt. Pulling out a cold metal object, she looked down at it intently. It was her Sailor Pen. This was the object that would transform her into Sailor Mars, but that had been so long ago. She walked into the meditation room inside the house. Above the fireplace rested a small wooden box. She pulled it down and opened it. Inside the box rested four other objects of the same type—the other Sailor Pens.

Along time ago, after their duty was finished, Hino Raye was entrusted with the keeping of these sacred objects. For seven years, she did her duty faithfully, but in those seven years, there was never a challenge to that duty. Inside the box, there were five places for the five pens. She sighed for a moment, thinking. The other Sailors hadn't touched, nor probably even thought about, their pens in seven years, but everyday Raye would take the sacred object out of the box and at least look at it. When the last battle was won those many years ago, Raye tried to do as the others did. For awhile, almost year, she refused to even open the box and look at her pen, but as time went on, something inside of her ached deeply. Ever since then, she refused to ignore the ache and indulge in the silent whispers of the past. For the past six years, she continued to train as a warrior, but for what purpose she did not know.

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The bus was slow moving because of the weather, but she had all the time in the world. Raye looked up from her magazine for moment. Most of the people on the bus were tired, and some of them were even half asleep. A couple of teenagers in the back were talking softly while a mother sang gently to her sleeping daughter. Raye smiled for a moment at the precious sleeping child, but looked up for a moment as something caught her eye. The man diagonal from her flashed a smile accompanied with a wink. Disgusted, Raye turned her head and looked towards the back of the bus. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the man was continuing to stare at her. The man had long greasy black hair that fell out of a dirty baseball cap, and the tight shirt over his large belly was covered in mustard stains. She pretended not to notice as he kept smiling at her.

Finally, the bus reached the Hikawa Shrine. She sighed in relief and grabbed her grocery bags. She hurriedly got off the bus, pretending not to hear the perverted man asking her for her number. Quickly she stepped off the bust and headed for the long stairway up to the temple mount. As she ascended the long stairway, she noticed something peculiar. There were footprints in the snow. The shrine was closed for the day; she made sure the sign was out front that morning. Cautiously, she continued up the stairs, following the footprints. They were heading into the house. She set the grocery bags down on the porch and carefully opened the door. She quietly stepped inside and listened for a few moments. There were noises coming from the kitchen. Slowly, she approached the kitchen in stealth and peered around the corner.

Sitting at the table, a long blonde haired woman with two flowing ponytails happily scooped out a helping of peanut butter and smeared onto a piece of bread. Releasing a sigh, Raye stepped into the kitchen. "Serena, what are you doing in here?" She asked, exasperated.

The blonde turned around, licking the knife of peanut butter. "Where's all the food, Raye? All I could find was this peanut butter."

"I just went shopping," Raye said. "Hold on," She walked out of the room to retrieve the groceries and came back a few moments later. Immediately, Serena staring digging through the bags as Raye laid them down on the counter. Satisfied, Serena took out a box of cookies and tore into them. While Serena was captivated with the food, Raye walked over to the other side of the table. On the floor, resting in a basket, a tiny girl slept peacefully.

"She's getting bigger." Raye said.

"Yeah, I know." Serena sighed between mouthfuls.

"What has it been? Three months since I've seen her."

"About that, I would say," Serena said. "My Rini's growing up. She's five months now."

Raye nodded. "Good."

"I hope you don't mind, but I turned the warm air on. It was freezing in here! And I turned on some of the lights. I couldn't see a thing in the dark! How do you live like that?" Serena took a bite of her sandwich.

Raye shrugged. "It saves on the electricity and heating bills…"

"You're not hurting for money, are you?" Serena interrupted.

Raye shook her head. "No, I'm fine. The shrine has been doing well enough. I'm still training Yuka as my miko."

"Yuka, she's a nice girl," Serena said.

"Yes, she is."

Serena motioned to the chair next to her. "Well, sit down! Tell me everything that's been happening. What's been going on with you?"

Raye slowly took a seat. Once she did, she shrugged her shoulders in response. "Nothing really exciting has been happening around here. Sorry."

"Nothing!" Serena exclaimed. "What do you mean nothing?"

"I told you. Nothing is going on."

Serena sighed, exasperated. "Raye, this isn't good for you. You just sit around this shrine all day, all by yourself…"

"I work hard! You have no idea what it takes to keep this place running for all the guests we have here!"

"That's not what I'm talking about! I know you work—that's all you ever do! You never go out and see anyone. You never spend time with people your own age, and you never go out on any dates!"

"I go out on dates!" Raye retorted.

"Since when? Five years ago?"

"Two!" Raye snapped.

"That's pathetic! You're telling me that you've not been on a date in two whole years?"

"What of it?" Raye crossed her arms.

"That's exactly what I mean, Raye," Serena urged. "How do you ever expect to ever get married when you're sitting up here in this shrine all by yourself?"

"I'm not all by myself. Yuka is here after school three days a week…"

"She doesn't count!" Serena interrupted. "You need a man!"

Raye rolled her eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't need a man to manage my life. My life is plenty busy and complicated as it is. Besides, it's none of your business anyway…"

"Raye, can I ask you something?" Serena shifted her tone.

"What?" Raye asked, exasperated.

"Do you like women instead…"

"No!" Raye exclaimed. "Serena, can you just get off my case already?"

"Well, excuse me for trying to be a good friend…"

"You're not being a good friend! You're being nosy…"

The two friends started yelling and screaming back and forth. Their voices escalated, filling the entire house with their argument. Finally, Serena yelled, "I'm worried about you!" Suddenly, Raye stopped. The two women stared each other down, but the baby started to cry, breaking the tension. Serena immediately rushed over to her daughter and picked her up, cuddling the girl in her arms. As Serena comforted the child, Raye looked on, feeling completely ashamed of her behavior. She watched as her friend held the child in her arms and how sweet and tender it looked. Something on the inside began to ache within her.

"Hey, Raye, look, I'm sorry." Serena looked over at her friend.

Raye nodded, unable to bring herself to look up at Serena.

Serena glanced at her watch. "Well, it's late, and I better get Rini home. Darien's expecting me to be home when he gets there."

Raye nodded as she watched her friend pack up and quickly, Raye was left alone in the silence again. Quietly, she began to put away the groceries and continue on with her night. After some light cleaning, she began to prepare her dinner—some rice would be fine for tonight. When her rice was finished, she quietly headed through the dark house and came into the living room. She curled up in a warm chair wearing a sweatshirt and pajama pants and turned on the evening news. Despite the fact that she was gone, Serena's words still echoed through Raye's mind. Annoyed, she grabbed the remote and shut the television off. Amongst the candlelight, she sat quietly, scooping the hot rice into her mouth. As thoughts swirled within her mind, her eyebrows began to hunch over her light violet eyes.

Serena didn't understand. Life was never easy for Raye Hino—it never had been and it never will be. What came so easily, and perhaps undeservedly , for some came with great hardship and much difficulty for Raye. It was a fact Raye had accepted long ago. Hot tears began to roll down her face. It was a fact that she had accepted, but a fact she hated and despised with everything in her. She could never have the life that Serena had—even if she wanted it. She shook her head, trying to hold back the tears. Sometimes it was difficult to not feel jealousy or bitterness when looking at those around her. She quickly dried up her tears on her sleeve then reached for the remote control to turn on the television.

She spent all night watching television—something she rarely did. Finally, about ten at night, she decided to go to bed. Tired, she maneuvered through the dark house and headed to her bedroom. Too tired to even get ready for bed, she immediately flopped down on the bed and covered herself up with the comforter. She fell asleep right away, but after an hour passed, she stirred back awake. She tossed and turned, shoving her head into her pillow, but something felt wrong. Lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, she told herself that it was just the comments that Serena made earlier, but deep down inside, she knew better. Something felt wrong. She searched her feelings for a few moments in the stillness of the night, but she couldn't discern what it was. Ignoring it, she turned over and went back to sleep.

She uneasily rested for another hour, but as the clock struck midnight on that cold December night, she awoke, gasping. She sat up, looking towards the window. The gentle snow was still floating down from the heavens. Her heart pounded within her chest. Something was out there. She threw back the covers and crawled out of bed.

(PAGE BREAK)

During the late of the night, four others were awaked from deep slumber. Lying next to her husband, Serena Chiba violently leapt out of bed with a scream. The studious Ami Mizuno awoke from her study session at her desk in her bedroom while Lita Kino stirred from her sleep in her own room. Mina Aino, who just crawled into bed fifteen minutes ago, crawled right back out and headed back out into the cold night.

(PAGE BREAK)

Raye stepped out of the house into the cold night air. She looked around the dark courtyard. It was peaceful and eerily serene. She scanned the area, looking for any sign of life. There was nothing. She walked up and down the deck for a few minutes, but still disturbed, she stepped down onto the ground and walked through the snow. She listened, only hearing the crunching of her footsteps in the snow. She stopped and listened.

"Hello!"

Raye quickly spun around, gasping. Behind her was a child—perhaps around the age of seven or eight. Her dark ebony hair was long and her eyes were just as dark. Raye stared into the girl's eyes—they were dark and cruel. "Who are you?" Raye uttered, frightened.

"Do you want to play with me?"

Raye shook her head. "No, I don't. Who are you? How did you get here?" Raye took a step back, moving into a defensive stance.

"You don't want to play?" The girl asked, her eyes beginning to glow a bright red.

"Who are you?" Raye hollered.

The girl began to back away, but as she did, a sinister laugh emerged from her lips. At first, it was the laugh of a child, but as she backed away, the laugh grew deeper and more adult-like. When the girl had backed almost into the trees, she began to transform. Before Raye's eyes, the young child grew into a full adult.

"What are you?" Raye asked. "What do you want from me?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm surprised one such as you would be asking such questions, Sailor Mars."

"You know who I am?"

The woman smirked. "For many years I waited to gain the strength needed to obtain what I want, and now that I am so close…I can hardly wait for it."

"And what is it that you want?"

"What else?" The woman smirked. "To conquer this pitiful world. That is all you need to know."

"You very well know then that I am a soldier of love and justice! I will never let you destroy this planet or the people on it! I am Sailor Mars!" Raye dug into her shirt and grabbed the Sailor pen.

"You will stand alone against me?" The woman laughed.

"If I must!"

"No, she has us!" Running up from behind, the four former Sailor scouts came up ready for battle. Older and more mature looking, the four women came up behind Raye and stood boldly with her.

Raye glanced behind her, feeling the support of her friends. "How did you know?"

"Nothing can break our bond of sisterhood, Raye. Nothing." Lita put her hand on Raye's shoulder.

"That's right! The Sailor Scouts are here!" Mina stepped forward, crunching the snow.

"Who are you?" Serena stepped forward, glaring towards the mysterious woman.

"My name is not important to you right now, but soon, very soon, it will be. When my time comes, darkness will reign over this land, and the world will be mine." She smiled.

"This world will never be yours! I don't care who you are or where you come from, we will fight to protect our home and the people who live here!" Serena said.

"Then prepare for battle!" The woman said. She snapped her fingers.

Appearing out of the darkness, three figures stood before the woman. The first was a muscular man who was bald, and his body was covered in many tattoos. He only wore a pair of black pants and black sandals tied with red string. Next to him was a young woman with long fiery red hair and deep green eyes. She had blades attached to her hands. Those two stood in front of the mysterious woman, but at her side, stood the most peculiar figure of them all. It was a young man. His short hair was dark and his wild bangs were kept back with a white bandana. He was dressed in black clothing, looking like a samurai. His hand rested gently upon the handle of the katana in his belt. Interestingly, there were two katanas on his belt.

"The Sailor pens are in the meditation room!" Raye whispered to her friends.

"Right," Ami nodded. "I'll make a run for it!"

The young woman stretched out her beautiful, delicate hand. "Attack!"

The two warriors in front of the woman charged forward, but the one next to her stayed behind. Immediately, Raye held her Sailor pen in the air and called out, "MARS STAR POWER…MAKE UP!" Before their eyes, Raye Hino became Sailor Mars once again.

"You had yours on you?" Lita asked.

"Yes, I've not forgot my training!" Sailor Mars stood before the enemy. The two warriors charged, the man heading for Sailor Mars while the girl headed for the others. While Ami took off into the house, the other Sailors prepared for the attack. Sailor Mars blocked the advancing attack from the bald warrior, but Mina, Serena, and Lita were hit by the woman and knocked to the side. It had been so long that she had been it battle and had a real opponent to fight, but after the years of diligent training and practice, she fared well against the man. He leapt back for a moment then threw his hand forward, shooting a ring of fire towards Sailor Mars. Confidently, she leapt forward, passing through the flames and threw a kick at the man. He was hit in the chest, and he flew back towards the feet of his master. Meanwhile, the woman grabbed a hold of Serena by the collar of her shirt. Quickly, Sailor Mars ran forward and charged into the red-haired woman. After a few exchanges of punches, Sailor Mars grabbed a hold of the woman's clothes and threw her back over to the mysterious woman. Triumphant, Sailor Mars stood in front of her friends and stared the mysterious woman down.

"Are you alright?" Sailor Mars asked to her friends.

Lita wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, we're alright."

Mina stood up, having trouble with her ankle. "They're stronger than we are."

"Maybe we're not strong, but Raye is." Serena said, with a faint chuckle.

Soon after, Ami ran back out into the courtyard holding the wooden box. She quickly passed out the four other Sailor pens, and soon the five Sailors stood together once again before their new enemy. The mysterious woman looked unimpressed. The two defeated warriors at her feet started to moan and crawl towards her. She, however, ignored their pleas, and not even bothering to look at them, she extended her hands down. Energy shot out from her hands, destroying the two warriors at her feet. "Pathetic," was all she said afterward.

Sailor Moon's jaw dropped. "How could you do such a thing?"

The mysterious woman smiled. "They were no longer needed."

While everyone kept their gaze upon the mysterious woman, Sailor Mars had her attention somewhere else. Stoically, the young man stood at the mysterious woman's side, casually watching the scene of battle unfold. The mysterious woman turned her head towards the young man and spoke something gently to him. Slowly, he stepped forward, his feet crunching in the thick snow. He stopped halfway between the Sailors and his master and drew one of his katana. He stood with his sword at guard position for a few moments, letting the snow float between them. Suddenly, he charged forward and leapt into the air. Quickly, Raye pulled out her bow and shot an arrow into the air. He disappeared! The arrow passed through the empty space that the man once occupied. At first there was nothing but empty space filled with swirling snow, but quickly, he reappeared and slashed down at Sailor Mars. Reacting, she held up her bow and blocked the attack. He disappeared once again, but this time he reappeared in front of the other Sailors. He took a slash at Sailor Jupiter and then Sailor Mercury. Both of them fell over in pain before they could react. He turned quickly, dodging Sailor Moon's kick, then threw his own kick at her. Sailor Venus came up with an attack, but it failed miserably against his skill. With a quick punch to the stomach, Sailor Venus was taken out quickly. Three golden arrows came flying at him, but they were blocked with his sword. Sailor Mars charged towards the man with an attack, but he blocked quickly. The two of them danced through the yard fighting through the snow.

Even though she had been practicing over the past few years, she did not have the skill or ability to compete with this man. He was faster, stronger, and more powerful than she could ever hope to be. She was trying her best, but it appeared as if he was merely playing around. Whenever she thought she had a good attack on him, he would just disappear and reappear to attack her.

Meanwhile, Sailor Moon managed to pull herself up off the ground. "We have to help Raye!" The others crawled up and lined up behind their leader. They watched for a moment as the man and Sailor Mars fought, but soon, Sailor Mars was struck across the face and knocked to the ground. They charged after the man and began to fight him with all the strength, but all their strength was not enough against this adversary. Sailor Mars picked herself up from the ground. She looked for a moment, seeing her friends losing against the young man. She quickly grabbed her bow and arrow and stood up. "MARS FLAME SHOOTER!"

The arrow swiftly shot off towards the mysterious woman. The powerful blast of the fiery arrow headed straight towards her chest. It was coming so fast that she could not move out of its way. She gasped. The young man disappeared and reappeared before the mysterious woman. "My Lady!" He yelled, just before being struck in the shoulder with the arrow. He fell to the ground at the mysterious woman's feet. Sailor Mars held her bow up, ready to fire again. "Don't move!"

The mysterious woman smiled. "Did you think it would be that easy?" She began to back away.

The young man reached out, struggling. "My Lady! Help me!"

The woman looked down at the man while continuing to back away. "You can expect me again when the time is fulfilled." She disappeared within the night, but lying on the ground, the young man struggled, reaching out where his master disappeared. "My lady," He called before fainting.

The Sailors ran up to him, looking down at the wounded warrior below them.

"He's unconscious," Sailor Mercury breathed.

"We should dispose of him," Sailor Jupiter said.

"No!" Sailor Mars gasped. "He's wounded!"

"He's the enemy!" Sailor Venus said. "He's tried to kill us!"

Sailor Mars stood in front of the man. "He's unarmed and wounded. It would be against my honor as a Sailor Scout to do such a thing."

"What are we going to do with them?" Sailor Moon asked.

"We're going to take care of him," Sailor Mars said.

"You mean you're going to take care of him!" Sailor Jupiter said.

Sailor Mercury looked up. "He's badly wounded. I don't think he'll survive the night."

Sailor Mars looked down at the man. "Let's get him inside."


	2. Blizzard

**Episode Two**

**Blizzard**

The unknown man was laid across the floor in the fire room. The Sailors transformed back into their civilian form and quickly went to work. Ami kneeled down at the young man's side and looked over his wound. In his right shoulder, the golden arrow of Sailor Mars pierced through his body and came out the other side. Deep red blood stained the black shirt he wore. Ami began to pull the man in an upright position. "We need to get the arrow out of him."

Raye kneeled down on the man's right side while nodding. Gently, she took a hold of the golden arrow then looked up. Serena, Mina, and Lita stood off to the side, watching. Serena nodded back. Raye closed her eyes and gripped the arrow tightly. She snapped it. After she was finished, she tossed the first half aside then looked towards the back. She grabbed the remaining part of the arrow with the point sticking out, and she pulled it out from his body. Blood oozed out of his shoulder. He was laid back down on the floor, and Ami immediately went to work. His shirt was torn off, and his wound was cleaned. Ami tossed the black shirt aside. Raye's eyes followed the shirt as it was tossed aside. Stitched in white across the back, the kanji for the word darkness was stained from the blood.

"Is he alright?" Serena asked.

Ami shook her head as she wiped up the blood. "I don't know."

Lita nodded. "We've done all we can do. "

"Maybe we should take him to the hospital?" Mina suggested.

"He isn't from this world. He has no identification. We can't take him there." Lita crossed her arms over her chest. "It's just as well. He's the enemy."

"Raye, may I use your phone? Darien's probably worried. I should call him."

Raye nodded and pointed towards the door. "Yeah, sure." Serena walked out of the fire room and headed into the house.

It took Ami awhile to clean the wound and dress it in bandages, but after she was finished, the women began to disband from the group. It was late into the night. With a yawn, Mina excused herself and Lita followed shortly behind. Ami stood up from the floor. "That's the best I can do for him right now."

"What should I do if it gets worse?" Raye asked.

Ami sighed. "Just try to clean the wound and change the wrappings frequently." She turned towards the door and walked over to her purse. "Give me a call if you have any questions."

"Everything finished?" Serena walked back into the room with a soda in her hand. She took a big drink and looked over the body. "He looks awful." She stared at him for a moment. "I wonder who he is, and most of all, I wonder who that lady was."

"Yes, it appears the Negaverse has returned," Ami said. "I thought we'd never have to face them again."

"We were wrong," Serena said. She looked to Raye, putting her hand on Raye's shoulder. "But someone has been prepared."

Raye looked down to her feet. "It never felt over."

Ami turned towards the door. "It's late. We should get going. Come on, Serena." The two friends left, and Raye was left alone with the mysterious stranger. She closed her eyes for moment, only hearing the rough breathing of the stranger. Turning towards him, she opened them and looked down at the enemy that lay upon the floor. She walked over, towering above him. For a moment she continued to stare. He was a strong and battle-hardened young man. He was strong and toned, and a scar tore across his left shoulder. Her eyes trailed up to his face. His hair was dark—as dark as hers. It was slightly shaggy with his bangs draped over his white bandana across his forehead. Her eyes continued upwards. Lying above his head were his two katanas. She walked over on her knees and reached out for one of the katanas. She unsheathed it. The silver blade was sharp and beautiful, and the handle was just as dark as everything else that the man wore. . After she was finished looking at the beautiful sword, she put it back down and looked at the man. His breathing was heavy and painful. Her eyes reverted back to the sword. Perhaps she should end this now. After all, he was the enemy. She reached her hand out towards the sword, but stopped herself, shaking her head. She couldn't bear to think of such a thing, let alone actually do such a thing. She stood up from the floor and walked out the fire room.

She immediately headed back to bed. Tired, she sprawled out on the bed, but during the night, she tossed and turned restlessly. Finally, a few hours later, she got up out of bed and roamed the dark hallways of the house. First, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. She stood in the dark kitchen for a while until she finished her water then she moved on. She roamed through all the rooms, searching for something, but she didn't know what. Moving on, she headed down the hallway that led from the house towards the temple. Normally during sleepless nights, she would head to the fire room to mediate, but it was occupied. She stopped in front of the thin paper door and pondered for a moment. The soft candlelight danced across the paper door as she stood there silently. She breathed deeply, opening the door. Beads of sweat rolled down the young man's face. His breath was quick and shallow as he lay upon the floor. The candles circled around him revealed his wound in their dim light. Through his bandages, blood seeped through, staining the white bandages. Quickly, she reached out towards the young man and tore off his bandages. She cringed at the sight of the bleeding wound, but she grabbed a towel and held it over the wound tightly. It seemed like she was there forever, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. Faithfully, she kept a tight hold on the towel and tried her best to stop the bleeding.

As she kneeled there, the young man began to stir into consciousness. Faintly, his eyes opened.  
Raye wanted to jump in surprise, but she didn't. Frightened, her heart pounded in her chest as she saw the man's eyes open. They were a beautiful blue, just like sapphires, but they were filled with hatred for the woman who tended to him. He stared into her violet eyes for a moment then with the little strength he had, he began to raise his head. He could barely raise it an inch off the ground. He continued to stare her down.

Frightened, Raye felt her body quivering, but she continued to apply pressure to the wound, and she continued to look the mysterious man in the eye. The hatred he stared her down with frightened her greatly, but she fought with everything in her to stay strong and brave on the outside.

His mouth opened. He fought through his pain to utter something. He continued to stare in the eye. "I'm going to kill you," He breathed quietly. After he finished his last word, his eyes closed and his head fell back to the floor. He was unconscious again.

His voice sent a fearful tingle up and down her spine. Despite her fear, she continued to tend to the young man. Soon, she lifted the towel up off his shoulder, and the blood had stopped flowing. She tried to stand up, but she almost fell over. Shivers ran through her body and her heart continued to pound within her chest. She walked out of the fire room to get some warm water. Soon, she came back with the water and clean towels. She took a deep breath, trying to shake her feelings, before she kneeled back down. Gently, she dipped the clean towel in the warm water, and she began to clean the wound. After she was finished, she wrapped fresh bandages around his shoulder. When she was done with that, she gathered her things and quietly walked out of the room. She gently closed the door behind her. She stood there for a moment, feeling her body tremble with fear, yet at the same time, it oddly felt like excitement.

* * *

The wind howled through the empty house that day. The snow, thick and heavy, swirled around outside like a raging tempest. It was snowing so heavily that the previously scheduled meeting between the Sailor Scouts was cancelled. However, all of them called Raye over the telephone to make sure she was alright because of the fact she was playing hostess to the enemy. After she finished speaking to Serena over the telephone, she walked into the living room. She curled up into the chair, the same chair her grandfather used to sit it, and she grabbed the remote control for the television. Watching television was about the only thing she could do during a blizzard. She turned on the news. Lying across the arm of the chair was a black shirt. It was the shirt of the mysterious man. After Raye had washed and dried the shirt, she laid it on the chair in the living room for her afternoon project. Patiently, she sewed a black patch over the arrow hole where her golden arrow had pierced him. The events of that played in her mind over and over again. He was stronger than she was, even with all of her training over the years. She only hit him with her arrow because he was trying to save his master. The face of the mysterious woman haunted Raye's thoughts. The woman's aura and presence was dark and sinister—chilling to the very core of the soul. She was merciless and cruel—even destroying her own officers and abandoning the one who was wounded to protect her. "Ouch!" She cried out after poking herself with the needle. She sighed, dismissing her thoughts. She turned her attention back to the television.

It didn't take her very long to finish the sewing the patch, but after she had set it aside, she grew restless and bored with the television. She hated television. She wondered why she was even watching it as she reached for the remote to turn it off. Her thoughts returned to the fire room. Perhaps she could mediate within the room while the mysterious stranger was still there. She got up, taking the newly fixed black shirt with her, and headed to the fire room. As she walked through the cold house, she heard the wind howl through the cracks. She approached the fire room and cautiously opened the door.

The man continued to breathe shallowly. Raye walked over to his side and gently knelt down. His wound was bleeding again, and his bandages were stained. She carefully set the black shirt aside and leaned over the man. She slowly began to unravel the dirty bandages. Even though the wound was bleeding again, it wasn't as bad as the last time. Seeing this gave her a small comfort, but she paused for a moment, not knowing why. Shaking out of her thoughts, she continued. She pulled the bandages away and reached for the water. Gently, she wiped the moist cloth across his skin and tried to clean up the blood.

His eyes fluttered open again. Raye stopped for a moment, noticing he had aroused. He could barely open his eyes, but he looked straight at Raye. Her heart pounded within her chest as she stared back at him. His eyes were watery and glazed over, expressing pain and anguish. He did or said nothing for those few moments. Slowly moving her hands forward, Raye decided to continue. As she did, he appeared to relax, closing his eyes. He fell out of consciousness again. Raye continued. She finished cleaning the wound and set to work on wrapping fresh bandages. When she was finished, she decided it would not be a good idea to try and mediate in the room. She got up and walked out of the room.

* * *

Raye's night consisted of making dinner, trying to read a book, and washing the dishes. Restless, she went into her bedroom and tried to mediate; it wasn't the same as the fire room. The fire was her source of strength and vision, but she had none that night. Alone, she lay across her bed and stared up at her ceiling. After her grandfather died, she moved into the master bedroom of the house. It was a formal and beautiful room with bamboo furniture and green paint—not that one could really look at the items and colors of the room within the darkness. The gentle breeze form the ceiling fan tickled her soft skin, and Raye lay there quietly, listening to the gentle hum of the fan. She stretched out her arms across the bed. Her left arm sprawled out over the empty space on the bed. The other half of the bed was empty. She rolled over onto her hip and stared off into the empty space, letting out a sigh.

Pain began to flood her heart and mind. She was alone—always alone. She always felt cold and empty inside. She tried so hard to cling to something, but everything slipped through her hands. All that was left was her duty. All she had in this world was Sailor Mars, but that too felt empty and pointless at this moment. All she had in that moment was the darkness.

While lying there, she fell asleep. It was still early in the night, but being so tired, she fell asleep. She slept hard throughout the night and awoke very early the next morning just before the sun rose. With a massive headache, Raye sat up in bed and looked around. She sighed, realizing that she fell asleep in her clothes. She slowly crawled out of bed and looked around. She headed to the window and pulled up the shades. The storm had subsided. It was dawn and the sun was beginning to peek out from the horizon.

Raye headed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of orange juice. She stood and drank it for a moment, but she put it down and headed towards the fire room. She had fallen asleep for so long that she realized she hadn't checked on the man in hours. As she approached she felt a cold breeze of air—colder than the rest of the house that was already cold. She quickly opened the sliding door and walked in. The door to the outside was open, letting in the cold wind. She frantically looked around. He was gone! All of his items were gone—both of his swords and the black shirt worked on. She looked around. Blood drops were splattered across the floor. She followed the trail of blood towards the outside door. Outside, more blood drops stained the pure white snow among the footprints. She followed the blood and footprints but part of the way into the snowy courtyard, the blood and footprints disappeared into thin air. He was gone. Raye stood out in the cold snow and pondered silently.

* * *

Blood dripped onto the cold stone floor as he slowly walked along. He held his shoulder, blinded with pain, as he headed towards the throne room. Draped across his shoulders, the black shirt covered his wrappings. He looked down for a moment, noticing the patch sewn into the shirt. He stared at it for a moment then looked ahead as he continued to stumble forward. His vision was blurry and doubled at times, but he approached the voices he heard in the distance.

"My Lady, I would be honored if you would allow me to lead the attack against the Earth forces," A voiced called out.

"The time is not right now. We must lie dormant for a season and wait."

"My Lady, I can win if you give me the chance! I can destroy the Sailor Scouts! I am a thousand times stronger than…" He paused his speech for a moment at the sound of feet clicking against the marble floor. The entire courtroom gasped.

The young man stumbled from out of the shadows and into the light of the courtroom. It was a wide and expansive room filled with soldiers, warriors, and monsters from all over the Negaverse. The room was beautiful, decorated in the finest gems, gold trims, and dark emerald marble flooring. At the head of the room, emerald stairs led up to the throne the mysterious woman sat upon. As the young man slowly approached, he walked up to the base of the stairs, passing the other man.

The other man scowled at the sight of the wounded man. His hair was long, reaching down to the middle of his back, but it was fine kept and tied with a ponytail. His hair was purple. He stood tall and proper, and dressed like a noble warrior of the Negaverse. As a weapon, he carried a war fan in his hand at all times. He back up as the wounded man tried to kneel before the throne.

"And where were you?" The mysterious woman asked.

"My Lady, I was delayed with an injury." He fought to speak the words. "I was taken prisoner by the Sailor Scouts, but I managed to escape."

The woman appeared to be uninterested; she was looking somewhere else for a moment, but she eventually turned her face towards the wounded man. "Very well then. You may go."

The wounded man began to stand up, but surging with pain, his body crippled over, and he fell to the ground. Everything went black for him. The purple haired man looked down over the wounded man. His eye caught the bandages around the wounded man's shoulder. He grew suspicious.

The mysterious woman waved her hand. "Guards! Get him out of here!" Two guards ran forward and grabbed a hold of the wounded man.

"What do you want us to do with him, My Lady?" One of the guards asked.

"Bury him," She said.

"My Lady," The other guard said, hesitantly. "He's alive."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Fine! Take him to the healing pods then!" She waved her arm again. "Just get out of here!" The two guards nodded and dragged the body out of the room.

The purple man turned back towards the throne. "My Lady, as I was saying, I am capable of leading a successive strike against the Sailor Scouts. If you would give me the chance..."

"General Taro, there is something you're forgetting," The mysterious woman interrupted. "My powers are not at full strength yet. I left the Negaverse prematurely, and it could have been a dangerous thing. We must lie wait until the time is right. When the time is right, I will send a strike force to destroy the Sailors once and for all."

"Will you send me?"

The woman didn't answer.

"You'll send him!" General Taro spat.

The woman paused for a moment to think. "Darkness," She uttered with a small smile. "Darkness will reap havoc upon the Earth. Soon, the time will come, but until the Time of Darkness of Man is complete, we will not strike."

"And when will it be fulfilled?" Taro asked.

"My scholars say a few months." She turned her face towards the impatient General. "Only in a few months, the crystal will be completely filled. Then we will attack."

General Taro bowed. "Yes, my Lady."

* * *

Deep within the Negaverse, the wounded man was placed into an organic pod by the wizards and magicians of that evil place. Faster than any human machine upon the Earth, the pod healed the man's wound and restored him back to full health. He emerged from the pod completely healed and restored. He was released from the care of the magicians, and he headed straight towards the place he called his room.

It wasn't much of a room—only a bed, a drawer, and a stand for his two swords. When she entered his cold, empty room, he looked around at the place for a moment then headed over to the bed. He slowly pulled off the black shirt. Hold his hand over the right shoulder, he ran his fingers over the stitching of the patch for a few moments. Carefully, he laid the shirt down and crawled into bed. After the door was closed, it was completely dark in his room, but that's the way he liked it. Even though he was tired, it was difficult to find sleep. He lay on his back for what seemed like hours upon hours. Late into the night, within the darkness, he reached out towards the nightstand next to the bed. He felt the cloth of his black shirt, and he reached into the inside pocket. He felt the sharpness of the object and pulled it out of his pocket. He felt the shape of the object—it was the head of the golden arrow. He ran his fingers over it in the darkness.


	3. The Meeting

**Episode Three**

**Meeting**

The snow danced in front of the Crown Fruit Parlor that afternoon. Serena stepped inside of the warm building and shivered as she shook the snow off herself. She slipped out of her large, puffy pink coat and hung it up on the coat rack. She rubbed her hands together for warmth then looked around.

"Over here!"

It was Mina. She and Lita were sitting in the corner booth at the back of the restaurant. Serena headed over to them and slid into the booth next to Mina. "Where is everyone?"

"Ami went to the restroom, but Raye isn't here yet."

"That's strange," Serena said.

Lita nodded in response. "She's probably just running late."

Shortly, Ami came out of the restroom to join them. She took the seat next to Lita. "Where's Raye?"

Mina shrugged. "None of us know."

Ami shrugged back.

The four of them sat their quietly for a few moments. It had been many months since the four of them had been together. As always, they remained best friends, but over the years, their lives had taken separate courses. Here or there in the streets of Tokyo, one of them might run into another one of them, but for the most part, they did not see each other. The four of them had found activities and obligations that filled the empty space that their duty as Sailor Scouts once held.

"So how is Marco?" Serena asked, turning to Mina.

"Marco?" Mina looked confused.

"Yeah, Marco, you know, your boyfriend."

Mina pondered for a moment. "That Italian guy?"

"Puerto Rican," Ami inserted.

"Puerto Rican! Italian! Whatever!" Mina waved her hand. "I almost forgot about him." She laughed. "Didn't I tell you? I've got my eye on someone else."

"He dumped you." Lita crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but that's not the point. I've got my eye on a base player…" She trailed off smiling. She then turned to Lita. "We can't all be like you!" She teased. "How long have you and Eiji have been dating now?"

"Almost two years."

Serena grinned. "You know what that means!"

"What?"

Serena started humming the wedding march.

"Oh, stop!" Lita flushed a dark red color. "I don't want to even think about that right now."

"Why not?" Mina and Serena asked.

"I've got enough to do with school and work…" Lita sighed. "I have no time for a wedding right now."

"We'll help you plan it!" Serena said. "I know where to get great flowers, and the store across the street has great dresses. Mina 's band can play at your reception…"

"That's right, we can!"

Conversation ceased as the raven-haired woman came into the parlor shaking the snow off her shoulders. She looked around for a moment then spotted her friends. She walked over to them and greeted them with a quick nod. She sat down next to Serena on the edge of the booth. "Sorry I'm late. The bus was running late today."

"That's alright," Lita nodded. "You're here now."

"Do you want to order anything?" Serena asked.

Raye shook her head.

"I think I'm going to get a snack," Serena said. "Three fries, two cheeseburgers, and a slice of pizza. No, actually I think a chicken sandwich sounds good…"

"Anyway," Mina rolled her eyes, turning away from Serena. The Princess of the Moon didn't notice since she was carefully scanning the sections on the menu. "We should get down to business. We've got to figure out who that crazy lady was, and what she wants."

"And we also need to know who that man was," Lita looked to Raye. "Has he spoken anything to you since he's been at your house, Raye?"

Raye stopped, pondering for a moment. His words echoed through her mind, _"I'm going to kill you." _Those words sent shivers up her spine. "No, nothing," She lied. "He's gone."

"He's gone!" The four other girls exclaimed.

Raye nodded. "I went to check on him, and he was gone. There were footprints in the snow. I assume that he ran away."

Lita sighed. "This isn't good."

"What's the problem?" Serena asked, looking around for the waitress.

"He might be after one of us," Ami said. "Revenge."

Lita nodded.

Raye's heart skipped a beat.

"You said he was wounded badly, Ami. What makes you think he's got the strength to come after one of us?" Serena asked.

"He did escape, didn't he?" Mina said. "Perhaps he went back to his master?"

"If I were him, I wouldn't go back to someone like her." Lita crossed her arms over her chest. "She obviously doesn't care about her warriors."

"Who is she?" Mina asked, troubled. "What does she want from us?"

Ami dug into her purse and grabbed her super computer. She laid it on the table and opened it up. "I captured some of the video of the battle. I went over to Darien and Serena's apartment and showed it to Luna and Artemis."

"And?" Lita asked.

"Nothing," Ami sighed, typing on the keypad. "They do not recognize the woman or the man. All I know is that we're dealing with a force more powerful than we ever could have imagined."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

Ami turned her computer around, showing everyone the battle footage. The computer showed the power levels and energy surrounding each person. "They are stronger than we are."

"What do we do?" Lita asked.

"I don't know." Ami shut the computer. "I must consult more with Luna and Artemis to discover the meaning of this situation."

"I will read the fire," Raye spoke up.

Ami nodded. "Yes, we need every resource we've got."

"Agreed." Mina leaned back in her seat.

"Oh, waitress!" Serena called out impatiently.

* * *

Her forehead glistened as the heat of the roaring fire warmed her skin. She sat kneeling before the sacred fire, looking for answers. The world became silent to her as her breathing slowed down. She was one with the fire. All that captured her senses was the power of the fire: its warmth surrounded her like a blanket, the flames danced in the reflection of her violet eyes, the cackle of the burning filled her ears, and the smell of burning wood filled her nostrils. The fire was all she knew in that moment. Through the flames, images began to appear. At first the images were difficult to see, but as time went on, the images began to focus. She was drawn into the vision. The sky was dark, and the land was quiet. She looked down to her feet—the land was stained in blood. She looked back up to the night sky. The earth, glowing brightly in the sky, sat beautifully within the night. Her eyes reverted down to the surface of the land. Thousands upon thousands of warriors and soldiers lay dead across the surface of the Moon. She turned around, looking behind her. Heavy darkness, as high as she could see, approached suddenly. She started to run, seeing the darkness engulf everything behind her. She ran, but it was to no avail. She was covered in darkness. Everything went black. She could see nothing, not even her hand in front of her face. Within the darkness, the cry of what sounded like a child began to echo throughout the darkness. Shortly after it started, it began to fade away.

She returned to reality, gasping. Her heart pounded wildly within her chest. Her hands went to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. The mysterious visions flashed through her memory as she stared at the wooden floor boards of the fire room.

"Miss Raye? Are you alright?"

Raye sat up on her knees and turned around. Standing in the doorway was a young girl dressed in a miko uniform. Raye wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Oh, sorry, Yuka, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The young girl looked frightened.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Raye stood up. "I was just meditating. That's all."

"Isn't meditation supposed to make you calmer?" Yuka asked.

Raye pointed to the door. "Go polish the haiden hall bells then meet me in the tea room."

"Yes, Miss Raye." Yuka walked out of the room.

Raye crossed her arms and watched the girl leave.

* * *

During the winter, the girl named Yuka only trained one day a week. Today was Wednesday and faithful to her training as a miko, the young girl was at the Hikawa Shrine to train that day. The girl was thirteen years old, but she had been training with the High Priestess of the shrine since she was eight years old. The young girl sat kneeling before the tea table. She looked across the table, seeing the High Priestess sip on a cup of tea. The mysterious woman only smiled as the girl looked at her.

The girl cocked her head to the side for a moment. As the High Priestess quietly sipped on her tea, she appeared to be caught up in her own thoughts. The girl took this opportunity to stare at her master. The High Priestess was so mysterious—an enigma. So many questions surrounded the woman that it fascinated the young girl. Most people felt that way about Raye Hino, but they usually responded to it in fear. Yuka on the other hand was captivated by the aura and presence of her master. Despite all this though, Yuka often worried about her master. The older woman always seemed sad. Her parents said it was because the High Priestess was eccentric and mentally unstable, but Yuka didn't believe that was the answer; however, she did not know what the correct answer was.

The clock in the tea room struck five. Raye glanced up at the clock then sighed, taking another sip of her tea. "I suppose you may head home for the night."

"Thank you!" Yuka exclaimed, popping up from her kneeling position. She painfully walked towards the door and grabbed her backpack. "My legs are killing me."

"Then perhaps we need to practice more?" Raye said.

Yuka sighed. "Oh, come on! I've been working on my sitting and kneeling at home!"

Raye sighed, slightly smiling. "Obviously not enough."

"Oh, please don't make me do this next week!"

Raye shook her head with a small smile. "We'll see."

After Yuka quickly took off, Raye stepped out of the tea room and onto the deck of the temple. She walked up and down the wooden deck that wrapped around the temple buildings, thinking about the images that appeared to her through the sacred fire. They didn't make much sense. She tried piecing the answers together through her memory, and the only battle she could remember on the Moon was when Queen Beryl attacked from the Earth. While treading the floorboards, she stopped and looked out into the courtyard. It was silent. The skies were grey and soon it began to snow. She looked out into the stillness. There was nothing out there, but she knew she was not alone.


	4. Shadow Warrior

**Episode Four**

**Shadow Warrior**

Her eyes darted back and forth across the courtyard. There was nothing but the gentle falling of the snow. She listened intently, but there was no sound. Her inner senses were screaming at her, sending chills up and down her entire body, but her outer senses could discern nothing. She looked around again, and seeing nothing, she stepped off the deck into the snow. Her feet crunched into the snow as she walked out into the open space of the courtyard. As she would walk, she constantly looked around searching for the thing that made her senses go wild, but she found nothing. She turned around, looking all around her, but there was nothing. She stood silent for a moment.

Without even thinking, her body jerked sideward. Her head turned, seeing a shimmer of metal whisper past her ear. She fell to the ground in the cold snow, but again, without even having a moment to think, she rolled back in a summersault. She sprang up, leaping far away as possible. She threw up her hands in a defensive stance and frantically looked around. Standing before her, a man dressed in black clothing raised his sword into an attack stance. It was the mysterious stranger that was in her house, but who had run away.

She gulped, feeling a heavy knot in her throat. He was ready to attack, and she was lucky to barely escape that surprise attack. He had her. The battle was finished. He could kill her easily at any moment; nevertheless, she held her guard up. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" She blurted out, panting heavily from the cold air.

The man stood silent, slightly smirking. He seemed to relish the fact that his opponent was flustered and scared, but after a few moments of watching her trying to catch her breath, he let his guard down.

"Who are you?" She asked again, with a calmer tone. She continued to have her guard up.

"It is of no consequence," He said, peacefully.

His voice—so soul piercing and mysterious lured her into a dangerous feeling. She let her guard down, even though she was terrified. She stood thinking for a moment. "Do you even have a name?"

At this, he looked up at her, eyes wide open. A slight look of surprise struck across the stoic man's face for a moment, but soon, his composure returned. He slowly raised his sword back to guard position. "Kagemusha."

"Kagemusha," Raye softly repeated the word, feeling a thrill shiver through her body. "The shadow warrior." Her hands went to her side, completely releasing her guard. "That is what they call you? You have no name?"

The man only nodded gently. His guard was ready.

Raye braced herself, reforming her guard. She wondered if she should take the time to reach into her shirt for her Sailor pen, but she decided against it. The moment she took her eyes off the enemy was the moment that she would find herself dead. She would just have to fight her best without her abilities as Sailor Mars.

The Kagemusha charged two steps forward then disappeared. Before Raye could even think to move, the Kagemusha appeared in the air above her. She was kicked in the face and sent flying backwards. It felt as if the whole world was spinning. Her vision swirled back and forth as she lay in the cold snow. She stared up into the grey sky for what seemed like hours. She was not safe. She could feel his approach like the darkness of the night. Soon, he stood towering before her. Her head ached, and her vision blurred. Surprised, tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes. There was no where to run and no where to go. She was trapped. Soon, his foot pressed down on her stomach, holding her down. His sword went up into the air, ready to strike through her chest. Her heart pounded wildly, fearful of what was to come any moment.

The Kagemusha looked down for a moment at his soon to be victim. His dark blue eyes caught her violet orbs. Despite the trembling he felt from her fear, she continued to bravely look him in the eye. His sword was still raised in the air, ready to take the kill at any moment, but after staring for a few moments into the woman's eyes, he slowly brought his sword down. He dropped his hands to his sides, still holding onto the blade. He stepped off Raye's stomach and took another step back.

She continued to look at him—her tears stopping for a moment of disbelief. "I don't understand." She managed to choke out through her emotion.

"A life for a life." He looked over to sheathe his sword then looked back down to the woman lying in the snow. "But next time you will have no mercy." He turned around to walk away. After taking a few steps, he merely vanished into the air.

Raye immediately began to sob. The swirl of emotions poured out of her soul as she sobbed within the cold snow. She was inches from death and suddenly jerked back to life with the tip of a blade. His life was in her hands, and he would soon come for what he wanted. She could only lie in the cold snow and sob her heart out.

* * *

Serena lived in a beautiful apartment—it overlooked the beautiful Tokyo skyline and had plenty of space for the family of three. Holding a glass of water, Raye walked around the apartment looking at all the family pictures of Serena, Darien, and their newborn baby, Rini. As she walked around, it was difficult to suppress the jealous feelings that wanted to rise up in her soul. She turned to the balcony and looked out the glass doors seeing the city. She took a sip of her water.

"Everything alright, Raye?" Serena asked, coming into the room with a basket of laundry. She sat down on the couch and started folding the clothing. Raye stepped off the balcony platform and walked onto the living room carpet. She took a seat across from Serena and leaned back into the soft leather couch.

"I'm fine," Raye lied.

"I think Darien should be home within the hour. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"No, I can't. I have some things that I have to do," She lied again.

"Like what?"

"Errands." Raye looked back towards the balcony.

"Ah," Serena said, continuing to fold the clothing. As she went through the laundry basket, she squealed, holding up a small little dress. "Isn't this so cute?"

Raye looked over at the baby dress. "Yes, it is."

Soon, the black cat named Luna came trotting into the room. "Raye, it is good to see you." The cat leapt up onto the couch and cuddled in Raye's lap.

"Yes, it has been a long time. Where is Artemis?"

"He's coming," Luna said. Soon, the white cat came out into the living room and jumped up onto the coffee table.

"Have you discovered anything about our new enemy?" Raye asked.

The cats shook their heads. "No, nothing," Artemis answered. "What about you?"

Raye pondered for a moment, seeing her life flash before her eyes again. "No, nothing, either."

Soon Darien came through the doorway, holding a briefcase and wearing a suit and tie. Excitedly, Serena got up from the couch and greeted her husband with a kiss. Raye looked away towards the balcony. Holding his hand she brought him over to the living room to say hello to Raye. The two greeted each other warmly, but as soon as possible, Raye looked away. Darien gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and headed into the bedroom to change his clothing.

"I must be heading home," Raye said.

"I thought you had errands," Serena said.

"Oh, yes, I will do that on my way home." Raye stood up. She hurriedly said her goodbyes and headed out the door.

Serena watched the doorway as her friend left. Soon, her husband came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of jeans and tee-shirt. Serena gave him a side hug as she continued to look towards the doorway. "Do you think Raye seemed a little strange today?"

"Any stranger than usual?" He asked.

Serena gave him a dirty look.

"I didn't mean it like that. What I'm saying is that she always seems so secretive and flustered. I always feel like there's something she's not telling me."

"That's exactly how I feel." Artemis said. "She's keeping something from us."

"But what?" Luna asked.

"Raye wouldn't keep secrets from her friends…" Serena said, but stopped from the looks she received. "Okay, maybe she would." She sighed. "I'm worried about her, that's all."

Darien pulled her close, holding her in a tight embrace. "I know you've been worried. We all have. She hasn't been the same since her grandfather died, but unfortunately, we can do nothing for Raye unless she opens up to her friends."

"I know," Serena sighed.

* * *

Two weeks passed. Time seemed to move slowly during the month of December. It was close to the Christmas season, and the city was filled with the hustle and bustle of the season. Raye, however, hadn't left the shrine grounds for those two weeks. She found other activities to occupy, such as shoveling the shrine grounds.

It was a snowy day once again. He peered through the trees, looking on in through the courtyard. He watched, standing in the cold air for hours, as the young woman shoveled the snow from the sidewalk running through the courtyard. He quietly inhaled and exhaled, watching his breath blow out into the air. In that time, he barely moved. Anytime he slightly moved, the woman would stop what she was doing and look around. She knew she was being watched. He was impressed—most could not even sense his movement, let alone his presence, but no matter how impressed he was, she was the enemy.

Raye stood up straight for a moment and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked around again, still not feeling secure. She was cold and tired. All afternoon she shoved the snow off the sidewalks in the courtyard. It was Wednesday. Yuka was in the front side of the shrine shoving the sideways while Raye remained in the back. Everyday she went outside to shovel the snow, but every night, the snow would cover the sidewalks in a fresh blanket of snow. Today, she was lucky to have Yuka helping her. She finished the task and looked around. She walked over to the shed and put the shovel away. She made her way back to the house through the freshly shoveled pathways.

She walked freely, but soon, she felt her body suddenly jerk back. Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and a cold metal blade tickled her neck. She released a small gasp. Caught in his arms, Raye glanced back, seeing the Kagemusha holding a small blade to her neck. Her head tilted back, leaning against his shoulder. One arm was wrapped around her stomach and the other around her chest. The sharp blade gently rested against her throat. She dared not to move. Fearfully, her breath caught in her throat as she tried to speak.

He said nothing, only his warm breath tickled her skin. His breath was heavy, slightly panting. He held her close against him, feeling her tremble against him and the wild fluttering of her heart in her chest. She turned her head, facing him, trying to be brave, but only revealing the fear in her eyes. They looked at each other for a few moments, feeling the warmth of each other's breath against their faces.

"Miss Raye, I'm finished!"

Raye's eyes fluttered open. "Yuka! No! Don't come back here!" Raye yelled, hearing the tromping of Yuka's footsteps around the snow. "Yuka, just run!"

"Miss Raye, I…" Yuka walked around the corner.

Instantly, Raye felt the pressure on her body disappear. She collapsed into the snow. He was gone. Raye gasped deeply then looked up at the young miko.

The miko looked very confused. "Miss Raye?"

Raye stood up. "Sorry, I fell."

Yuka nodded, slightly creeped out. "Okay."

Raye wiped the sweat off her face. "You can go home now."

"But it's only three o'clock."

"That's alright. You can go."

"Really?" Yuka asked, excited.

Raye nodded and the young girl took off. After the girl left, Raye collapsed back into the snow.


	5. New Year's Eve

**Episode Five**

**New Year's Eve**

Like the women shown in homemaking magazines, Serena bustled around the apartment in her apron getting things ready for the party that night. The deserts were baking in the oven, the baby was peacefully asleep in the nursery, and with a feathery duster in hand, Serena expelled the dust from all the furniture in the living room.

It was a picturesque afternoon—the snow was gently falling, leaving the city in a thin blanket of soft cold snow. She stopped for a moment to admire the view of the Tokyo skyline in the distance, but quickly, continued with her chores. Already sitting on the countertop were the fine china plates for the deserts and the exquisite wine glasses for the drinks. Everything was working perfectly. She looked up at the clock. Darien would be home any moment from the grocery store.

Just as she thought of him, he entered through the front door, carrying a bag of groceries. He headed towards the countertop and set the bag down in an empty space. He looked around for a moment at all the dinnerware, but something caught his attention. He began to sniff the air. "Serena? What is that smell?"

"Smell?" She questioned. She started smelling the air, clueless, but her eyes bulged once she realized. "Oh no!" She ran over to the oven and opened the door. "Get my oven mitts!"

Darien frantically looked around until he found the padded gloves then tossed them to her. Serena shoved them on her hands and reached into the oven. Out came a silver pan with a large darkened log in the middle.

"What is that?" Darien asked.

"Cookies," Serena sighed.

Darien looked at the large log for a moment, thinking of his words carefully. "Why is the dough in one big heap?"

"I bought one of those easy-bake cookie packages," Serena said. "But, it isn't easy!"

"I think you were supposed to cut it into pieces before you baked it."

"Really?" Serena's eyes started to water. "I…I…"

"Serena! Don't cry!" He reached out for her and took her into his arms. "Don't cry. Look, you made all these other wonderful desserts…"

"Lita made those! She brought them over this morning." Serena's tears broke lose and she began to sob. "I can't do anything right!"

"Serena, don't say that." He hugged tighter. "You can do lots of things."

"No I can't!" She sobbed against his shirt.

"Serena," He sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Some people in this world were made to bake…"

She sniffled, about to sob some more.

"But _some_ of us, are made to eat." He tried to make her smile. "Right?"

Serena shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Right," Darien nodded. "Now don't cry. Everything will be fine."

She nodded, wiping away her tears. A small smile came to her face.

"There," He smiled. "That's better."

"You're so good to me," She said before leaning in to kiss him.

A few moments later, as his hands wandered to his wife's backside, the door flew open. Raye walked in, carrying a glass dish, but after she looked up, her face immediately blushed. "I'm sorry, I…" She turned her head away.

Serina stood up straight. "No, no, that's fine. Bring it over here." She walked over to her friend, and took the glass dish. She walked back over to the counter while Raye followed sheepishly behind her.

Darien cleared his throat. "Hello, Raye."

She glanced up for a moment, but blushed deeper when she made eye contact. "Hello, Darien." She looked over at Serena. "Can I wash my hands?"

"Yeah, sure."

Raye turned to the sink and began to wash her already clean hands. She took her time and took even longer to dry them. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment, seeing her blonde haired friend grabbing at her husband's rear end as he walked away. Raye rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the sink.

"What is this?" Serena asked, slowly lifting the cellophane wrap off the dish.

"Lasagna," Raye replied.

"Oh," Serena uttered.

"What?" Raye looked over at her friend.

Serena turned away from the dish toward her friend. "You usually don't bring western dishes."

Raye shrugged. "I thought I'd give it a try." She walked up to her dish and pulled out the white index card that she left on top. "I put the baking instructions right on this card."

Serena grabbed the card out of Raye's hands. "Let's see…preheat oven…"

"Don't screw it up!" Raye scolded.

Serena put her hands on her hips. "Why do you always think I'm going to mess everything up?" She looked away as Raye gave her a look she knew too well.

"Anyway," Raye continued. "I have to run some errands before the party. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Alright, sounds good."  
Raye headed for the doorway.

"Wait a second!"

Raye turned around, holding the doorknob in her hand. "What?"

Serena's eyes wracked over a piece of paper, counting the people on the list. Are you bringing anyone?"

Raye shook her head. "No," She walked out of the apartment.

* * *

She hated parties. There were lots of people she didn't know, mostly Darien's co-workers or friends at motherhood classes Serena met. The people she did know were involved with their own conversations and agendas. Standing in the corner of the room, holding a thin elegant glass in her hand, Raye's eyes scanned back and forth across the apartment. She looked nice—black slacks, pointed leather stiletto heals, red turtleneck sweater with a fabric that seemed to glitter, and a long gold chain necklace. She stood there, holding the glass of apple cider, merely watching everyone else.

Her eyes headed towards the couch. Excitedly, Serena and Darien played a card game with Ami and her boyfriend, Shun. They had the same major at the University of Tokyo—Pre-Medicine. Raye's eyes darted away, looking past all the unfamiliar faces. Her eyes then caught Andrew, Darien's best friend, sneaking into the desserts in the kitchen. Occasionally, she would see Luna and Artemis walking around the apartment, pretending to be normal household pets. At times, she would get bored standing in the corner. She would walk around for a few moments, pretending like she had something to do, but eventually, she would return to her post.

Mina and Raye crossed paths. The blonde took a hold of Raye's arm and pulled her close. "Hey, Raye, what's happening?" She fell forward onto Raye.

Raye almost lost her balance, trying to support the blonde. Raye rolled her eyes—she had the clumsiest friends ever. Mina was just about as bad as Serena. "How are you, Mina?" She asked with a deep breath.

The blonde stood up straight. "I'm fine." She flung her arm back, almost spilling her drink. "There's a ton of cute accountants here!" She squealed. "I've got my eye on that one over there!" She pointed to one of them, but Raye didn't look.

"I thought you were dating some bass player…"

"I am," She said flatly. "But look at him," She kept staring over at the accountant. "He's incredibly cute!"

Raye glanced over. Standing next to fireplace, three men in suits conversed causally with one other while they sipped on their drinks.

"The one next to him isn't bad either," Mina said.

Raye nodded her head. "No, he isn't."

A devilish smile spread across Mina's face. "Let's go talk to them!" She locked arms with Raye and began to head towards the fireplace.

"Mina! What do you think you're doing?" Raye scolded. "Let me go!"

"Just do me a favor for once in your life!"

"No! I don't want to talk to them!"

"You're going to if you like it or not!"

"Ladies?" One of the men smiled as the two approached.

"Hello!" The two girls ceased their fighting and put on bright smiles.

"So, who are you fine gentleman here for?" Mina asked.

"We work at the office with Darien." The man Mina was interested in spoke up. "And who are you two lovely ladies?"

Mina cackled with laughter. "I don't know any good reason to just give you my name." She battered her eyelashes. "Perhaps it should be a game…"

"Her name is Mina," Raye said flatly.

Mina shot a dirty look towards her friend before flashing a smile towards the gentleman. "Excuse my friend," She faked a laugh. "She's a bit disgruntled sometimes."

Raye returned the dirty look.

"Mina," The gentleman uttered, his lips curling into a small smile. "That's a pretty name."

Mina laughed again, the same fake laugh that irritated Raye to no end, as she made her way closer to the gentleman. Soon, the young blonde monopolized the attention of the gentleman, leaving Raye alone with the two other men.

The three of them stood around the fireplace for a moment, but the one standing against the fireplace excused himself for more to drink. Raye glanced up for a moment, looking at the other man Mina thought was cute. It was true. He was cute—brown hair and big beautiful brown eyes. He noticed Raye's glance and faintly smiled. She returned the courtesy. They stood there for a few more moments before he took a step closer to her.

"What is your name?"

"Raye," She answered quickly.

He took another step toward her. "My name is Steven."

"Oh," She said, nodding her head.

He looked around for a moment then turned his attention back to her. "I haven't seen you around before. Do you work at the firm?"

Raye shook her head. "No, I'm a friend of Serena's."

"What?" He asked, struggling to hear from all the noise in the room.

"I'm a friend of Serena's."

"Oh," He said. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm the Head Priestess at Hikawa Shrine."

He stepped closer, straining to hear. She repeated herself and he nodded his head. He looked around for a moment then motioned his head towards the doorway. "Do you want to go out onto the balcony?"

Raye looked out towards the glass door. It was empty. It would be cold out there, but at least she would be away from the crowd. "I suppose so."

The two of them weaved through the people in the living room and headed towards the balcony door. Steven slid open the large glass door and led Raye out onto the balcony.

"Brrr!" Serena exclaimed while sitting on the couch. She turned around, searching for the source of the cold breeze. She noticed Steven and Raye heading out onto the balcony. "Honey, who is that?"

Darien turned around. "Who?" He looked around then noticed Steven and Raye leaving to head outside. "Oh, that's Steven. He's only been at the firm for a couple of months."

Serena smiled. "Well, hopefully it's permanent."

Lita walked up towards the couch, holding onto her boyfriend's hand. "Hey Ami, did you see that?"

"See what?" Ami asked, not paying attention to anything but her hand of cards.

"Raye's out on the balcony with some guy," Lita said with pride in her voice.

Ami head jerked up. "Really?" She peered across the room towards the balcony. "That is fantastic!"

"I don't understand." Shun, Ami's boyfriend, sat up from the couch. "What is all the excitement about?"

Ami turned towards her date and whispered in his ear. "She hasn't been out on a date in over two years."

"Oh," Shun uttered.

"Is this Steven a nice guy?" Lita asked, giggling as her boyfriend's arms ticked her as he slipped them around her waist.

Darien nodded. "I don't know. I haven't talked to him much."

"Hopefully he is." Serena smiled before taking a drink.

* * *

It was strange. He was paying attention to her—asking her questions, talking about their likes and dislikes, and listening to the things she had to say. Every moment felt excruciatingly awkward and frightening, but she bravely continued to converse with the stranger. The first part of the conversation was filled with facts and details about one another. Whenever one of them would run out of things to talk about, the other would quickly fire off another question. Finally, when no more questions could be thought of, an awkward silence befell them. For a few minutes, they stood out in the cold air as the listened to the dull roar of the party inside.

"Your sweater is pretty."

Raye glanced over at him. "Thanks."

"It reminds me of my convertible—bright red."

"Oh."

"Yeah, none of the other guys at the firm have one. I knew I could bank on getting that promotion so I went ahead and got it."

"That's nice." Raye looked away towards the skyline.

"My boss has no idea what he's doing. They should hire someone who does."

"Like you," Raye said flatly.

"Well, I wouldn't be such a bad candidate…"

Raye sighed as she continued to listen to the man reveal all the problems and concerns of his workplace. After what seemed like hours, she finally interrupted him, asking for a refill on her apple cider. He complied, heading back into the apartment, and leaving her alone on the balcony. She waited for a few minutes, but he didn't come back. She turned around for a moment to look back into the apartment. Everyone was gathered around the television. It must have been close to midnight. She watched, on the outside looking in, as everyone waited in anticipation. After a few moments, she turned back around, looking out into the quiet night sky.

She stood out there alone, thinking by herself. Absorbed in her thoughts, she did not even realize the New Year came until the faint ringing of church bells echoed through the city. Instead of turning around, she continued to stare out into the night, watching her breath in the cold air. It seemed like hours before she turned around, but when she did, she saw everyone crowed around Lita and her boyfriend. After studying their movements for a few moments and watching Lita's hand fail around, she concluded one thing. She headed back towards the door and stepped into the apartment. Everyone looked as the door slid open and cold air rushed into the apartment.

"Raye!" Lita exclaimed. "I'm engaged!"

"That's wonderful," She said, trying to smile for her friend. Lita ran up to hug her, grasping her in a tight embrace. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you!" Lita squeezed tighter.

Raye looked up past Lita's shoulder. Steven was talking to some other girl. Raye sighed quietly. "I'm really happy for you," She whispered to Lita.

* * *

She didn't linger much longer after midnight. Instead, she headed straight home on the bus. At this hour, it was pretty empty, but there were others like her, leaving parties or traveling to other parties. It was mostly quiet on the ride home except for the laughing and giggling of some of the people in the back. Finally, she reached the Hikawa Shrine and left the bus. She slowly and tiredly climbed the long stairway that seemed to go on forever.

She walked through her house without bothering to turn on the lights and went straight to her bedroom. Exhausted, she peeled off her clothes and threw them across the room. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt, put them on, and quickly went to bed. She hit the bed hard and snuggled into the chilled covers from the night air. Quickly, they warmed from her body heat, and she dozed off to sleep.

At first, it was a restful sleep, but as the night went on, faint images began to appear in the back of her mind. They were blurry and dark, but as the night passed, they came into the focus. It was as if she was standing in the middle of a dream clearer than ever before. She looked up. High above her was the thick canopy of the tress of the forest. The leaves were turning colors of fiery reds and burn oranges and sunfire yellow. As the breeze tickled her skin, she listed to the rustling of the trees as the leaves fell down to the ground. Everything was peaceful until the shrill of an horrendous scream filled the forest.

Raye immediately ran off in the direction of the scream. Consciously, she did not know the way, but her feet carried her down a long and winding forest path. The screaming grew louder as she approached. The sun was beginning to set in the western horizon, making her pathway darker and darker as she ran. Soon, the night fell, but up ahead, bright flashing lights illuminated the darkness. She ran out of the forest into a clearing.

"Kaori, run!" A man hollered, failing his arms.

As Raye looked across the clearing, she saw the young man, motioning a woman to leave the area, but in her arms, was a tiny bundle of blankets wrapped around her child. Before them, a mysterious woman stood stoically, dressed in a black cloak. Raye gasped. It was the same mysterious woman who attacked her. The woman slowly extended her hand, pointing her index finger towards the young couple. Raye tried to stop the attack; she ran out in front of the energy beam shot off by the woman, but it passed right through her. Nobody could see or hear her. She shook her head, remembering that it was just a dream. She looked back behind her. The man and the woman with the baby both fell to the ground from the blast.

"Kaori, run!" The man repeated again.

The woman nodded and started to take off running. The man stood up, mustering all of his strength, and prepared himself for battle. It was to no avail. As the man charged forward, the woman did likewise, striking him with another blast of energy. The man was pierced through the chest. The woman, hovering above the ground, flew over towards the woman, catching her from behind. The mysterious woman grabbed the young woman by the shoulders and flung her back. The child was tossed up in the air and caught by the woman dressed in black. Quickly, the young mother leapt up with tears in her eyes and charged the mysterious woman. The woman dressed in black causally slapped the young woman across the head, and the young woman passed out.

Raye watched helplessly as the mysterious woman walked away, holding the child that she stole from the two young parents. The child was wailing and crying violently, but the mysterious woman seemed to be unbothered by it. As she walked, a large grin spread across her face. "I found you once again." She said to the baby before disappearing into the night.

Raye's eyes fluttered open


	6. Curiosity

**Episode Six **

**Curiosity **

Slowly, drops of water rolled off the stalagmites high above on the ceiling and splashed into crystal clear pools of water. It was cold, damp, and wet. It was dark—completely dark. Nothing was visible to the human eye, but comfortably, he sat upon a large cold stone, listening to the sounds of the cave. His senses were acute to the darkness, noticing every sound and movement.

He sat quietly for hours alone. Within his palm, he held the golden tip of the arrow that had pierced his shoulder merely weeks ago. He gently rubbed his fingers across it as he sat there. He sighed, feeling the warm of his breath against his face.

Suddenly, he looked up, noticing the ground beginning to shake. The water that dripped slowly was now dripping heavily like rain within the cave. Tension was building, and it climaxed with the shrilling cold voice of his master. Her power, fueled by her intense anger, shook the entire dark passages and caves of the Negaverse palace. He sighed again before disappearing.

He reappeared before the great throne in the dark palace. The mysterious woman stood on the platform of her throne pacing back and forth. Her underlings kneeled all fearfully graveling and bowing before her throne. The Kagemusha looked around for a moment at all the graveling idiots then back up to the throne. His mood soured once General Taro walked into the throne room. They exchanged distaining glances then they each turned toward their master.

"My Lady, how may we serve you?" General Taro asked.

With her face flushing red, the mysterious woman turned toward her servants. "It is taking too long!"

"What, my Lady?"

"The crystal, you imbecile!" She screamed at him. "The scholars say that it'll take another year!" She screamed. "I cannot wait another year!"

General Taro bowed in submission. "My Lady, cannot we not move against the Sailor Scouts now? Why must we wait for the crystal?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Because my powers are weak!" She screamed. She sharply turned away, her thoughts dazing off. "If it wasn't for her…" She paused for a moment, feeling her entire body shake with rage. "…Serenity…"

"But, my Lady…"

"Get out of my sight!" She screamed.

"As you wish, my Lady." He disappeared.

The mysterious woman sat on her throne to brood. Slowly, the underlings of the court managed to slither away, but the Kagemusha walked away.

* * *

Thoughts plagued his mind as they always did. His head, constantly buzzing with the chaos of thousands thoughts, ideas, and questions, rarely gave him peace or rest from such mental torture. Often, during the latest hours of the night, while everyone was supposed to be peacefully asleep, he was awake. He needed escape, and that is why he often ventured into the mortal world without the permission of his mistress. As long as he was careful, he could easily slip away from the realm of the Negaverse and travel to the earth. Of course, due to his mistress' orders, this was forbidden, but he was compelled for some illogical reason to travel to the human world and spend his time there. So that night was spent high up within a tree at the Hikawa Shrine. The moon was full and bright—a poor night for hiding, but he managed to rest undiscovered within the bare trees. It was the beginning of spring, and the leaves were beginning to sprout. As he sat there, stroking the golden arrowhead, he tried to calm his mind. It was as if the universe was spinning chaotically through his heart and soul, swallowing up and destroying all life and hope within one dark mass of black hole.

He sighed—this was his curse—his power.

Bells began to ring. He looked forward, across the courtyard, towards the Shrine. The High Priestess, with golden bells and incense, slowly walked up and down the outer decks of the Shrine, using her powers to purify the area. The Kagemusha locked his eyes on her—the only one who has ever harmed him in battle.

Raye proceeded to purify the area, but after a few more steps, she turned around and looked over her shoulder—in his direction. She peered into the trees for a few moments, feeling a shutter down her spine, but after discovering nothing, she continued with her ritual. "He's watching me," She whispered to herself. Exhilaration coursed through her body. Her cheeks burned hot. The thrill—the terror—the confusion—it made her heart pound. She knew he wanted her life, and this time, there was nobody to stop it from happening. But as she bent over to set her bells down, the question came to her mind again, "If he is such a merciless killer of the Negaverse, then why has he spared my life twice now?" This time, it would be the question she would take to her grave. She turned around, slowly walking off the deck, and into the courtyard.

In part of the courtyard, there was a small cluster of ponds, lined with sacred stones, and ripping with tiny waterfalls. She glanced down for a moment, looking at the colorful koi fish swimming happily, but firmly looked up towards the trees. "Kagemusha!" She called out. She looked back to the pond. Within moments, she saw the reflection of the dark warrior. She looked back up.

He stood there, collected and confident, with a stoic expression across his hardened face. His left hand was resting against the handle of his katana.

Saddened, she spoke to him, "What do you want with me, Kagemusha?"

He said nothing, but dug into the pocket of his black shirt. He slowly pulled out his hand, and revealed the item. The golden arrowhead glimmered brightly in the moonlight. He held it up for a moment for her to see then threw it into the pond.

She nodded. "Revenge."

He nodded, moving into a fighting stance.

Raye reached into her priestess uniform, clutching the Sailor Pen in her pocket. She pulled it out and immediately called upon the powers of Mars. "MARS STAR POWER!" Quickly, before the Kagemusha's eyes, the Priestess of Hikawa Shrine was transformed into Sailor Mars, Soldier of War.

She clenched her fists tightly, bracing herself for his attack. He was fast—much faster than her. Before her eyes, he disappeared then quickly reappeared. Disappearing and reappearing in a zig-zag pattern, he quickly approached. She saw the punch coming and tried to block, but she was too slow. She was hit in the face. Another came. Again she tried to protect herself, but he was too fast. She was struck again, this time in the mouth. She leapt back, grabbing her lip. She pulled her hand away, looking at the blood stain on her white glove. He stopped his attack for a moment as she tried to pull herself together. She repositioned her stance and was ready. She charged, throwing another punch. He dodged then grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground.

Sailor Mars quickly scrambled up as he approached her. She put her guard up, ready for the next attack.

He calmly walked toward her. "Never punch like that."

"What?" She asked, still keeping her guard up.

"You overextend yourself, and you have no power."

He walked right up to her, but she backed away from him. He took another step, closing the space in-between them. He threw his arm out to punch but stopped before he hit her.

She quickly shielded herself, but after a few moments, she noticed that he didn't hit her. She peaked out from her protective arms and looked at him. He stood with his arm out in the correct position for a punch. He didn't move. She looked at him awkwardly for a few moments, wondering what he was doing, but she mimicked the position he was in. Once she did that, he moved to another position, pulling his punching arm back.

"You have to focus. You have no concentration. You just throw punches." He turned to the side for a moment and looked down at the water. He held his fist back for a few moments then punched forward. Gusts of wind flew from him and spread across the water. He stood up straight once he was finished. "You try it."

"What are you doing?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Try it!" He snapped.

"Oh, alright!" Sailor Mars got into a fighting stance. She stood still for a moment, trying to focus, then she threw a punch.

"No, focus!" He scolded.

"Why are you teaching me this anyway?"

"Punch!"

She tried it again, but it was dissatisfactory.

"Focus!"

"I'm trying!"

"Focus on your inner power. Use all your senses, not just your eyes."

Sailor Mars breathed a heavy sigh. She put her guard up once again. She closed her eyes, only listening to the sound of her heavy breath. Her fist, clenching at her side, was ready to strike, but it was premature. She waited for a moment longer—longer that what her first instincts told her, but she began to feel something. A faint burning sensation began to course through her fist. She felt it slowly crawling up her arm, but instead of waiting for it, she threw the punch. A small gust of wind followed with the faint ripping of the waters.

"Why did you stop?"

"I don't know," Sailor Mars said, marveling at her fist. She looked over at him. "Why are you teaching me these things? Aren't you a warrior for the Negaverse?"

"Yes, but perhaps you won't be as utterly pathetic when I kill you."

She looked towards the pond. The fish were scattering all over the place from the recent activity. "When you were about to kill me the last time, why did you stop?" She looked over at him.

He didn't say anything.

"Was it because of Yuka?"

He looked towards the pond. She did the same.

"It is you I am after—not her."

"And it seems as though you have me, but why would a merciless killer such as yourself spare the life of an innocent girl."

He looked over at her at the moment _merciless killer_ rolled off her lips. His eyes dimmed for a moment then he looked away.

Sailor Mars sighed for a moment. She closed her eyes, releasing the power of Mars. She disarmed as Sailor Mars and became the Priestess once again. "I am ready to die. Take my life."

"You are very brave for a mortal." He slowly withdrew his katana. Soon the cold blade was resting against her beautiful neck.

"I have nothing to live for," She uttered, feeling the blade press against her neck. A tear from each eye flowed softly down her reddened cheeks.

His face, which usually had no expression, showed a slight intrigue. Slowly, he removed the blade from her neck and withdrew his guard. She closed her eyes, feeling the pressure off her neck, but tears started to roll heavily down her cheeks. Death—it seemed to be an easy, but fearful escape from the pain she felt. Three times she was close to crossing the line, but three times she was jolted back into the world of the living.

The Kagemusha stared at her, still looking puzzled. "Why do you cry?"

"Take my life!" She screamed at him, her tear-filled violet eyes flashed open. "Take my life!" She screamed once again. "It's what you came for! Now do it!"

The Kagemusha sheathed his sword and turned around to walk away.

She stood there sobbing by the ponds as he disappeared into the night. After a few minutes, she collected her composure and headed back into her house. Exhausted, she headed for her bedroom and leapt into bed. Her shades were up in the window, letting in the moonlight, but she was too tired to pull them down. She passed out.

Curiously, the Kagemusha sat outside the bedroom window within the tree looking on it at the sleeping Priestess.

* * *

What was supposed to be a Sailor Scout meeting actually became a shopping trip in downtown Tokyo. Armed with her husband's credit card, Serena ravaged every department store's sales rack within the Ginza district. Toting behind, the other Sailors carried their relatively small purchases compared to their leader. Exhausted, Serena plopped down unto a public bench with her heavy bags and let out a sigh. "I'm so tired," She moaned as the other Sailors joined her.

"We have been shopping for five hours now," Ami said, looking at her watch.

"My feet hurt." Mina took of her right shoe and began to massage her foot. "And we haven't even found Lita a wedding dress yet."

"Perhaps if someone wasn't so preoccupied at the chocolate factory…" Raye crossed her arms.

"What?" Serena looked up from tearing through a small box, her teeth covered in chocolate smears.

"We have plenty of time to find a dress, and besides, I might even consider making it myself," Lita said.

"That sounds like a lot of work." Ami crossed her legs, turning towards her friend.

Lita turned towards Ami. "It will be, but I think I know better than anyone what kind of dress I want to wear. So who would be better than me to design it?

"True," Ami said.

"It's getting late. Perhaps we should call it a day?" Mina suggested. "Besides, I have a band practice tonight."

"Oh, speaking of which, how are things with that guy?" Lita asked.

"What guy?"

"Oh, you know…uh…Ichiro…the base player."

"Ichiro?" Mina laughed. "We only went on a couple of dates. I'm onto this really cute police officer…"

The girls rolled their eyes as Mina went off on one of her tangents about her latest love interest.

"Well, we've got to get going if we want to catch the next train out of here," Ami said, looking at a pocket transportation schedule.

"But, I'm so tired!" Serena whined.

Raye gasped. "Is that an ice cream truck?"

"Where!" Serena leapt off the bench, frantically looking around.

Raye chuckled.

"Raye!" Serena turned toward her raven-haired friend with a frown on her face.

"Time to go," Raye started off in the direction of the train while the other girls followed. Serena trotted sullenly behind. Soon, one by one the girls headed off towards their own homes. Serena was first, heading back to the city apartment that she and Darien shared. Lita came next while Mina followed behind her. Soon, Ami and Raye were left upon the train. They both had the same stop, but they would head off in different directions. While on the train, they merely chatted about light things, but as they stepped off, Ami called out to Raye as the raven-haired woman turned to head home.

"Raye!"

The woman turned around. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Ami asked, looking worried.

"Yes, I'm fine." Raye said, looking cool and collected with her hand in her pocket.

The terminal was filled with people entering and exiting the train. "Are you sure?" Ami hollered over the commotion.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Raye hollered back, being pushed around by people.

Ami stood, biting her lip as she looked at her friend. Slightly frustrated, Raye weaved through the crowd and walked up to her friend. "What is this about?" Raye asked, annoyed.

"You seem…" Ami paused, biting her lip harder.

"What?" Raye snapped.

"Depressed."

Raye rolled her eyes and turned away. "That's ridiculous!"

"Is it really?" Ami chased after her, pushing through the crowd. She grabbed Raye by the shoulder and spun her around. "You're not yourself! You haven't been since you're grandfather died."

When she heard those words, she turned her face towards Ami, displaying utter shock for a moment, but then she turned away and began to charge forward again. "Ami, just drop it!" Raye stormed off into the crowd, leaving Ami behind.

Ami stood helpless, watching her friend leave. "I'm just trying to help you!" Ami hollered over the noise.

Raye continued to charge, tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

While it was still chilly, it was warmer than it had been in months. On that morning in the middle of March, Raye quietly sweep the shrine grounds in preparation for re-opening to the public from a cold and snowy winter. Soon, empty gardens, shrines, and pathways would be filled with patrons from all over Japan. It was her duty to up-keep this place for the visitors.

It was peaceful and quiet, but her heart and mind ruminated on the words Ami spoke to her in the train station yesterday. She hated the fact that Ami was right—she hadn't been the same since her grandfather died, but what she hated worse was the fact that she could do nothing about it. This was her life. She continued to sweep the sidewalks but applying her frustrations to her work. While beating the ground with her broom, she suddenly felt a strong breeze rush past her. She stood up straight, clutching the handle of the broom then slowly turned around.

Standing across the yard, the warrior of darkness stood watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. She stood still for a moment, her knuckles turning white from clenching the broom handle. Neither did he move. They both stood still, looking towards each other, but not moving an inch. Enough was enough; Raye threw the broom down and charged towards the warrior. She swiftly ran across the courtyard, leaping up into the air, and throwing a kick towards him. He quickly blocked, pushing her leg away from him. She landed and prepared to fight. He threw two kicks, both of which she clumsily blocked. The third time, he kicked her straight across the arm, making upper arm swell with pain. She grabbed her sore arm, trying to swallow the pain, but it felt as though her arm was going to fall off her body.

He waited for her to gain her bearings, which a few moments. She slowly, still in pain, moved into a fighting stance. She took a swing at him; he blocked it, but instead of counterattacking, he waited for her to gain her posture. She continued with her futile attempts for a few turns, but he never stuck back at her. Once she grew tired, he quickly moved forward, almost disappearing before her and reappearing closer with a punch, but instead of hitting her, he stopped.

She stood, staring down his fist. She breathed out a heavy sigh, the warmth of her breath touching against his fist. She stood frozen.

"Your blocks are terrible."

Raye stood up straight. "I don't understand why you are telling me this."

He started motioning a block for her to mimic. Instead of arguing with him, she followed his movements with her arms. He moved into another block.

"Watch my feet," He said, moving to another block.

She followed him.

He then slowly extended his arm towards her, and she blocked the incoming attack. He shot her a dirty look as she incorrectly blocked, but the look washed away with the second block done correctly. At first, the exchanges were slow, but after a few minutes, the tempo began to pick up. Soon, they were walking back and forth across the courtyard exchanging blocks and punches. She was blocking everything he threw at her, including a fake, at which she grinned. But suddenly he disappeared, and before she realized it, his food went across her face. She fell to the ground.

"Don't get cocky."

She looked up at him, rubbing her sore chin. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes," He said flatly. He turned around to walk away. "You're still slow."

Raye sighed, still sitting on the ground as she watched the warrior walk away.

* * *

That night was filled with the thrilling adventure of watching re-runs of popular television shows. She hated the television, but sometimes, she couldn't stand the silence of the dark house. She sat in her living room while the television illuminated the room. Usually, she would try to read or sew, but tonight, she merely stared at the television with her head propped against her fist. After a while, she got up and headed into the kitchen. She went to the refrigerator for a drink and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Feeling something peculiar, she turned around. Everything was dark. She stared in the corner of the room for a moment then headed to the cupboard for a glass. She reached in the cupboard and poured the orange juice. She put the carton away and left the room, sipping on her glass, but left on the table, was another full glass of orange juice.

Come the next morning, the glass was empty.


	7. Kanji

**Episode Seven **

**Kanji**

The impatient woman stood tapping her foot against the marble floor. Before her was the sacred crystal that would be the answer to all of her prayers. It rested within a golden stand reaching up from the ground. The greenish crystal would pulsate with light every few seconds. The woman, standing before it, stared angrily at the glowing gem as her underlings scurried around the crystal, examining it and writing things down. Some servants carefully examined the crystal while holding up many ancient charts and graphs while others took notes on their tablets. They all came to a consensus and huddled together.

The angry woman, evilly beautiful and dark, turned her eyes away from the crystal towards the trembling group of old men. "What have you discovered?"

They all wore ridiculous hats and robes, but the one with the most ridiculous hat came forward. "According to our calculations my Lady, it should still be another year."

A deep exhale escaped her lips.

The man stepped forward. "Have patience, My Lady, you'll soon have your powers again."

She glanced over at him and smiled.

Nervously, the old man smiled.

The woman's smile disappeared quickly. She grabbed a hold of the old man's robes and picked him up off the ground. The old began to beg and plead for his life, but ignoring his moans, she threw him towards the group of men. They all fell over, dropping their charts, scrolls, and tablets.

"Now get out!" She screamed.

The old men scurried up off the floor and ran out of the room.

The woman stepped forward to examine the crystal up close. She stared deeply into the greenish gemstone, and memories began to replay within her mind.

_The sky was dark. The land was littered with the bodies of many fallen soldiers. Blood ran like rivers between them. She was ready to claim her destiny, but one thing stood in her way—Serenity. _

"_Look what you have done!" Serenity hollered, examining the ground of fallen soldiers, the warriors of the Moon Kingdom. Tears filled her eyes. "These were our people!" _

"_I do not care of them! I will take what is rightfully mine at whatever cost!" The woman said, raising her arms. She began to form energy balls in the palms of her hands. _

"_Then you are mad!" Serenity hollered. _

_The woman smirked. "Perhaps, but it takes a fanatic to get anything done." _

"_So you will destroy this Kingdom to get what you want?" _

"_If it means disposing of you, then yes." _

_Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, the future Queen of the Silver Millennium and mother of Sailor Moon, raised her arms high in the air. Holding onto the Moon Wand, she summoned the last of her strength. _

"_This will be your death, Serenity!" The woman charged forward. _

"_Goodbye…" Tears rolled down Serenity's face. "…Kali…" She closed her eyes and braced herself. _

The woman snapped out of her memory at the sound of her general's voice. She turned around as he called her name once again.

"Mistress Kali?" General Taro called.

"What?" Kali spun around.

General Taro bowed. "The first legion of soldiers has finished their training. They are ready for your inspection."

Kali released a faint groan. "Fine." She waved her hand. "I'll take a look later."

The General bowed again. "Yes, my Lady." He walked away.

Kali took one last look at the crystal before she walked away.

* * *

Raye stood on the deck of the Shrine, tapping her foot as she looked at her watch. She sighed, resting her arm at her side. Looking over towards the stairway, she watched as her young miko hiked up the tall stone stairs, ran across the courtyard, and halted in Raye's presence.

"You're late, Yuka."

Yuka, panting, dropped her books and sighed. "I know! I know! I just had this thing to do after school then I got in trouble…"

"Got in trouble?" Raye crossed her arms.

"For being late to class…"

"Imagine that."

"Miss Raye, I'm sorry! I really am!"

"Uh-huh." Raye glanced towards her watch again. "You're almost twenty minutes late."

"I know! I won't do it again! Please!"

Raye sighed. "Alright, get dressed and meet me in the fire room."

After Yuka changed form her school uniform into her miko outfit, the two of them met up in the fire room. Raye had already started the sacred fire and began to kindle the flames. Soon, the fire was roaring and filling the room with heat.

"What are we doing?" Yuka asked.

"We're going to meditate." Raye took a kneeling position in front of the sacred fire while Yuka found a spot behind her. Raye took in a deep breath, smelling the scent of the burning wood and closed her eyes. "Take a deep breath…" She waited for Yuka. "…And concentrate. Close your eyes."

Yuka followed suit.

For a long time, Raye had found it difficult to focus in meditation. The goal was to block out the outside thoughts of the world, but lately, she wasn't very good at doing such a thing. She forced herself to lay aside all of her thoughts and cares to try and listen to the sacred fire. It was difficult. Thoughts would continue to re-enter her mind, but she fought to keep her head clear. She breathed out again, letting herself surrender to the fire. There—she felt release. Soon, her senses and faculty were overcome with the power of the fire. It coursed through her entire body, strengthening her and giving her wisdom and focus. Her lips began to move. "I am flame. Flame is Light. I am fire. Fire is sight." She began to utter quietly. At first she could see nothing, but the fire itself, but after a while, something began to appear distantly within the fire. She pushed deeper, trying to see, but nothing was coming. Suddenly, kanji flashed before her eyes, and she gasped, falling backwards unto the floor. Coldness and darkness rushed around her as she jolted back to consciousness. Lying on her back, she looked up at the ceiling. Soon, Yuka was standing over her.

"Miss Raye?" The miko looked confused.

Raye sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, I fell."

"Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Raye picked herself up off the ground. "Why do you practice your meditation while I go do something quickly?"

Yuka nodded.

Raye walked out of the fire room. She quickly paced down the hallway leading from the shrine into her house. She headed straight for her desk in the study and opened the drawer. She grabbed a notebook and flipped it open. She scribbled down the kanji that flashed before her eyes then closed the notebook. She headed back to the fire room to attend to her miko.

* * *

He sat resting against one of the branches of the tall trees surrounding Hikawa Shrine. Within his palm, he held the reclaimed item that he always held onto—the golden arrowhead. He would mostly spend his time rubbing the metal with his thumb, but sometimes he would find his attention wandering to scurrying squirrels or the first chirping birds of spring.

He heard one of the doors slide open. He jerked his head towards the Shrine. The High Priestess stepped out onto the deck followed by her miko. The older woman turned to face her student, and she bowed. Her student bowed also.

"Now, try to be on time from now on. We have a lot of work to do."

Yuka nodded. "Yes, Miss Raye. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

"Yes, Miss Raye," Yuka bowed again before turning around to leave.

Raye crossed her arms as she watched her student leave. Her eyes followed the young girl running towards the exit, but suddenly, her head turned towards the trees.

The Kagemusha stood very still.

She stood there, staring for a moment, with her arms crossed. "How long has he been there?" Raye asked herself. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see him, but she could not. After a few moments, she turned around and walked back into the house.

The Kagemusha waited until he heard the door close then he disappeared.

Raye weaved through the hallways of her house, first stopping in the restroom, and then continuing on towards the study. She wasn't in this room very often. It had a desk, office supplies, and even a computer, but she only used this room to do things like pay the bills and balance her accounts. She sat down in the swivel chair and spun towards the desk. She flipped open the notebook, trying to find the page she scribbled in earlier. Once she did, she threw the page open and leaned back in her seat.

"Fuji," She said aloud.

What did this mean? She pondered for a moment. The only _Fuji_ she could think of at the moment was Mount Fuji, but what did that mean? She didn't think about too much because she knew that she had no idea about the meaning. Instead, she got up from the chair and exited the room. The study was on the other end of the house. She backtracked through the most unused portion of the house towards the middle, where the kitchen and living room were. She paced along the dark hallway quietly, but a scream escaped her lips as she felt herself being grabbed from behind.

Her heart instantly began to ache in her chest. Her limbs froze in terror, feeling as heavy as frozen blocks of ice. She choked down the lump in her throat, managing to utter, "Kagemusha."

The mysterious warrior, with his prey caught in his arms, stood behind her, holding a knife once again to her neck. She moved forward, motioning her to continue to walk. Soon, they were in the kitchen, and he threw her to the ground. She landed on her face, but she quickly spun around on her back. "What do you want with me?" She yelled.

"I have come for your life."

"Then why don't you just take it?" Raye asked, harshly. Tears of anger began to splash against the floor. "Is this some kind of game? Are you just toying with me?"

"You're weak."

"Then why don't you just do it?" Raye shot up off the floor. "I am tired of this! Would you just go ahead and take your revenge?"

"I told you." He looked her in the eye. "You shouldn't be as utterly pathetic as you are now when I kill you."

Raye shook her head, feeling angry. She wiped away her hot tears and stared him down. "You're sadistic!"

He said nothing.

Raye glanced to the side for a moment. She quickly jumped for one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a large knife. She raised it in the air high above her head. "If you won't do it, then I will!"

The Kagemusha, who rarely had a facial expression, seemed to have the slightest bit of surprise wash over his face. One who did not know him would think it was always the same facial expression, but for one who did, they would notice the slight change in his composure.

Tears streamed down Raye's face as her hand trembled. Her life, filled with pain and sorrow, flashed before her eyes. Memories that wounded her soul to the core burned and ached within her. Overwhelmed by them, she desired for them to stop, but her hand could not move.

The Kagemusha disappeared. Suddenly, Raye felt another hand over hers. His fingers worked their way into her palm, causing her to drop the knife. As the metal clanged against the floor, her entire body went limp. Her knees buckled, her body falling to the ground, but she was caught in his arms. He slowly set her on the floor.

She began to sob. Cradled in the arms of her enemy, she threw back her head and sobbed against his chest. Together, they sat on the floor of the kitchen as she sobbed her heart out. Her soul, through tears that she never allowed herself to cry, was purging itself of all the pain and sorrow she held. After some time, she managed to glance up at the mysterious warrior for a moment, eyes stinging with tears.

"This is not an honorable way," He said, just above a whisper.

She nodded, as the tears were coming under control.

He stood her up, seeing that she was a bit more composed, and once she was standing, he pulled away from her. He walked backwards, facing toward her, from the kitchen and into the hallway. He headed into the dark hallway then disappeared.

Raye stood in bewilderment the kitchen, with dried tears on her face.

* * *

The Crown Fruit Parlor was fairly empty that morning—a few old couples scattered around the tables while in the corner a young couple met up for breakfast. After a long night of practicum in the emergency room, Shun Tanaka, Ami's boyfriend, met up with Ami for an early breakfast. It was 6:30 in the morning, but Ami didn't mind the early hours to see him. He slid into the booth first, but seeing that nobody was around, Ami slid it next to him. She always was more affectionate when she didn't feel the pressure of someone watching. Tired, he leaned against the wall, wearing his hospital scrubs, and she leaned against his chest while he threw his arm around her.

"How was your shift?" Ami asked.

"Pretty uneventful for the emergency room—a broken arm, a case of pneumonia, and a sick baby."

"Oh," Ami said sadly.

"It was just a case of jaundice. Hopefully, it should clear up in about a week."

"Yes, it should be okay then."

"I love it when you're compassionate." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Because otherwise I'm a cold-hearted witch?" She asked him.

He shook his head with a silly expression spread across his face. "I can never say the right thing, can I?"

"No, you can't." She smiled just before he kissed her.

The waitress walked up, rolling her eyes at their affectionate expressions. "What'll you two lovebirds have?" She asked, tapping her pen against her order booklet.

Ami instantly pulled away and straightened up in her seat, cheeks flushing a violent red.

"Uh…" Shun quickly grabbed the menu and examined it. "I'll have crêpes."

"What kind? How many?" The waitress asked flatly.

Shun tugged at his ear. "Two. Strawberry." He looked up. "Oh, and can I get a coffee with that?"

The waitress rolled her eyes before writing it down. "And what do you want?" She hissed at Ami.

"Yogurt…"

"You can get more than that," Shun said.

"No, I'm not very hungry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The waitress stood tapping her order booklet again while tapping her foot against the floor.

"Yogurt, please, and a cup of chai tea."

The waitress walked away, scribbling down the order.

"She is not getting a tip," Shun said.

"I should say." Ami turned back toward her boyfriend. Ami sighed, tucking her fists under her chin.

"Something wrong?" Shun's hand rubbed across her back.

Ami shrugged. "I was just thinking about Raye."

"Your friend?" He asked. "The strange one?"

Ami shot him a dirty look.

"Sorry," He shrugged. "I always feel like she hates everyone."

"Well…" Ami shrugged. "…she only looks like she hates everyone."

"Why are you worried about her?"

Ami traced her finger over the table. "She just doesn't seem like the same Raye since her grandfather died. She's aloof, secretive, and she rarely leaves her house."

"Do you think she's suffering from depression?"

"Yes, I do, but she was extremely defensive when I tried to talk to her about it."

"Hmmm." Shun paused to think. "As you know, you can't help anyone who doesn't want to be helped."

"I know. I just…" Ami sighed.

The waitress came up with their drinks.

* * *

She was used to being alone, but as she spent those early spring days preparing the Shrine for visitors, she didn't feel alone. For days, she prepared the shrine grounds—sweeping the sidewalks, picking up rocks, cleaning up dead grass, and other various activities. At night, she spent her time reading and knitting, but within the darkness of the house, she didn't feel alone.

She could feel it. He was always watching. Day after day passed at Hikawa Shrine without a soul stepping onto the grounds, but she knew in her heart that she was not alone. His presence, mysterious and frightening, slowly became expected and almost, dare she think—comforting. Occasionally, she would look up from her work, searching for him, but he was never to be found. Soon, he began to appear far away from her, still partially hidden, but like a curious animal, he would approach. Day by day, he would grow closer towards her. If she worked the grounds, he would be among the trees. If she sat by the fireplace in the living room, he was in the darkness of the hallway watching. His presence, mysterious and frightening, she waited for.

Sometimes he would reveal himself, ready to take her life, but it always ended the same—he did not complete the task. Other times, he would approach her cautiously just to observe what she was doing. Today was one of those days. As she realigned the stones around the small creek running through the grounds, he appeared before her, a few yards away.

They rarely spoke but merely stayed in each other presence for hours at a time. As the Kagemusha appeared, he sat down on one of the rocks and looked on it. The High Priestess was on her hands and knees. A small smirk spread across her face as she noticed she had company. Her sleeves were rolled up for hard work. She cringed, plunging her arms into the cold water, and she grunted, pulling out a heavy rock. She repeated the process. The sweat of her brow rolled down her face and into the small stream. She continued the hard work, only stopping when she saw his reflection in the water. She looked up at him, shocked. He rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt then dipped his arms into the water. He pulled out a large stone. Raye continued in her work, along side the Kagemusha.


End file.
